Department for Transport

Transport: Finance

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department has made of planned spending on (a) cycling, (b) walking, (c) public transport and (d) roads contained in local growth plans in each local enterprise partnership area in each of the next six years.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The estimated spending figures are as per the attached table. Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) have varying degrees of freedom to vary spend between projects and between years. The published Growth Deals did not allocate funding to specific years other than 2015/16. The figures provided are therefore for all years 2015/16 to 2020/21 inclusive. Spend has been designated according to the primary mode of the schemes individually named in growth deals. Many of those designated as ‘road’ and ‘public transport’ also include some cycling and walking infrastructure. Spend designated as ‘mixed’ includes individual schemes and packages where there is no single dominant mode, but within which sustainable modes, including cycling and walking are significantly represented. This includes the West Yorkshire Transport Fund where the individual schemes were not announced in the Growth Deal. An estimated breakdown of modal spend within these schemes and packages could only be provided at disproportionate cost.  The figures in this table relate to the new projects announced in growth deals in July 2014. The Local Growth Fund also includes £1.6bn of transport spending over the same six year period that had previously been allocated to individual major schemes and local transport bodies. The Department has also committed significant expenditure outside the Local Growth Fund, for example, an additional £114m to further the work of the Cycling Ambition programme.   



216381 - table - Local Growth Fund
(PDF Document, 36.16 KB)

Government Car Service

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 18 November 2014 to Question 214347, what deadline he has set for HM Revenue and Customs' submission to the government fleet review.

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 18 November 2014 to Question 214347, what deadline he has set for (a) the Ministry of Defence's and (b) the Defence, Science and Technology Laboratory's submission to the government fleet review.

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 18 November 2014 to Question 214347, what deadline he has set for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's submission to the government fleet review.

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 18 November 2014 to Question 214347, what deadline he has set for the submission of the contributions of (a) the Home Office and (b) the British Transport Police Authority to the government fleet review.

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 18 November 2014 to Question 214347, what deadline he has set for the submission of the contributions of the (a) Government Car Service, (b) Driving and Vehicle Standards Agency, (c) Vehicle Certification Agency and (d) Driving and Vehicle Licensing Agency to the government fleet review.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The deadline for central government departments to confirm whether they wanted to participate in the ultra low emission vehicle readiness project was 13 October. No deadline was given to participants for the provision of data to the fleet review process. We currently expect the reviews to have concluded by 31 March 2015. We will give an update thereafter on how many vehicles will be integrated into each fleet.

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency

Mr Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency plans to respond to the letter of appeal from Mrs T. Slater of Christchurch of 14 November 2014.

Claire Perry: The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) received Mrs Slater’s letter of appeal on 19 November and responded on 3 December 2014.

Maritime and Coastguard Agency: Fareham

Mr Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many Coastguard officials, of what grades are employed at the National Maritime Operation Centre in Fareham; and what the (a) inflow and (b) outflow of such staff was before (i) January and June 2014 and (ii) July and November 2014.

Mr John Hayes: The following Coastguards are employed at the National Maritime Operations Centre in Fareham:Role Grade No. National Maritime Operations CommandersGrade 75Maritime Operations ControllersSenior Executive Officer5Maritime Operations SpecialistsHigher Executive Officer6Senior Maritime Operations OfficersExecutive Officer12Maritime Operations OfficersAdministrative Officer33Coastguard TrainerHigher Executive Officer4Coastguard TrainerSenior Executive Officer1Total 66The inflow of staff between (i) January to June 2014 was 33 and (ii) July to November was 33. The outflow of staff between (i) January to June 2014 was 0 and (ii) July to November was 0.

Maritime and Coastguard Agency: Fareham

Mr Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 1 December 2014 to Question 216240, on how many occasions the number of staff working the night shift at the National Maritime Operation Centre in Fareham in the period October to November 2014 was three or fewer.

Mr John Hayes: For the period October to November 2014 there were no occasions when the night shift at the National Maritime Operations Centre in Fareham was staffed below four people.

Tolls

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to introduce further toll roads.

Mr John Hayes: The Government has a longstanding policy of funding estuarial crossings through tolls. Work on a new Lower Thames Crossing has assumed that it will be tolled, although no decisions have yet been made. Beyond this, there are no plans for further tolls. The £15 billion to be invested in strategic roads over the next five years, set out most recently in the Road Investment Strategy, is wholly funded by Government. The new Mersey Gateway Bridge and existing Silver Jubilee Bridge will be tolled when the new bridge opens in 2017, although these are the responsibility of Halton Council.

Maritime and Coastguard Agency: Falmouth

Mr Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many coastguard officials of which grades are employed at Falmouth Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre; and what the (a) inflow and (b) outflow was of staff members between (i) January and June 2014 and (ii) July and November 2014.

Mr John Hayes: The following Coastguards are employed at the Coastguard Operations Centre in Falmouth:Role Grade No. Maritime Operations ControllersSenior Executive Officer1Maritime Operations SpecialistsHigher Executive Officer2Senior Maritime Operations OfficersExecutive Officer9Maritime Operations OfficersAdministrative Officer3Watch ManagerExecutive Officer1Watch OfficerAdministrative Officer7Coastguard Watch AssistantAdministrative Assistant1Total 24 The inflow of staff between (i) January to June 2014 was 0 and (ii) July to November was 3. The outflow of staff between (i) January to June 2014 was 2 and (ii) July to November was 1.

Maritime and Coastguard Agency: Fareham

Mr Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre stations are available to act as emergency cover in the event of an emergency at the Maritime Operations Centre in Fareham.

Mr John Hayes: The new HM Coastguard national network currently consists of the National Maritime Operations Centre and the Coastguard Operations Centre (CGOC) in Falmouth. They can provide cover for each other in the event of either site not being available. The level of resilience will increase as more centres transition into the national network. The Coastguard Operations Centre in Holyhead comes on line on 15 December 2014. The programme will complete in December 2015 when the following centres will have joined the national network, at the date specified: Milford Haven – February 2015 Humber – April 2015 Aberdeen – July 2015 Shetland – August 2015 Belfast – September 2015 Stornoway – October 2015 Dover – December 2015

Maritime and Coastguard Agency: Falmouth

Mr Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many officers of what rank were on watch during the night shift at Falmouth Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre on the night of 1 December 2014.

Mr John Hayes: On the night watch of 1 December there were three staff at Falmouth, comprising two Senior Maritime Operations Officers and one Watch Officer. The Maritime Operations Controller was also called into the night watch as contingency for any hand over of operations from the National Maritime Operations Centre (NMOC). This was due to a gas leak in a road near to the NMOC. However no handover was required. This process was handled in accordance with rehearsed business continuity plans and is an example of the excellent level of resilience within the new HM Coastguard network.

Department for Communities and Local Government

Local Government Finance: Ealing

Angie Bray: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much the London Borough of Ealing receives annually in total government grant; and if he will make a statement.

Kris Hopkins: The Department for Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Incinerators: Gloucestershire

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when he plans to take a decision on the application by Gloucestershire County Council to site an incinerator facility at Javelin Park.

Brandon Lewis: The Department for Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Travellers: Caravan Sites

Mr Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the effectiveness of his Department's guidelines issued to local authorities on dealing with unauthorised gypsy and traveller encampments; and if he will make a statement.

Brandon Lewis: The Department for Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Libya

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department took to vet Libyan personnel prior to their commencing military training at Bassingbourn barracks; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Member for Rayleigh and Wickford (Mr Francois) of 4 December to question 214126.

Islamic State

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the revenue available to the ISIL derived from the territory it controls; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)’s main sources of revenue come from oil sales and extortion. Other sources have included foreign donors, kidnap ransom payments, and money stolen during its advances in recent months.Air strikes targeting oil infrastructure and the liberation of oil fields have significantly reduced ISIL’s ability to access and refine oil.As part of our strategy to combat ISIL, the UK led work on UN Security Council Resolution 2170 which was adopted unanimously on 15 August. It condemns ISIL, the al-Nusra front and other terrorist groups listed under Al-Qaeda sanctions. The resolution urges members to take measures to choke ISIL’s sources of finance.We are working with countries in the Middle East to counter the threat from terrorists and extremists across the region. Combating ISIL and degrading its financial support is a priority and we continue to discuss these issues with our partners, including Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

Ascension Island

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will publish a list of all operators who obtained commercial fishing licences from the Ascension Island government between 2010 and 2013.

James Duddridge: Fisheries management is a devolved issue and as such is the responsibility of the Ascension Island Government. We have consulted the Ascension Island Government regarding this information. The Fisheries Department has advised that as part of licensing conditions the full legal name and address of the owner, operator and charterer of each vessel was provided to AIG who hold this information in commercial confidence. All vessels are checked under the ICCAT record of vessels to confirm the vessel was registered to ICCAT and have registration numbers and were flagged to an ICCAT-registered State.

British Overseas Territories

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports or assessments have been commissioned by the UK Government on child protection proceedings in the British Overseas Territories between 2000 and 2005; when each such report or assessment was commissioned; which jurisdiction was the subject of each such report or assessment; and which external agency undertook the assessment or produced the report in each such case.

James Duddridge: The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost as we do not hold this information centrally. However, you will know from answers to your previous questions on this subject the importance the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) attaches to protecting children from harm, and the more recent projects and ongoing work.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

EU External Trade: USA

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, on what occasions have (a) EU companies seeking to trade in the US and (b) US companies seeking to trade in the EU claimed to have been discriminated against by the courts of the host nation in the last five years.

Matthew Hancock: Claims made by EU investors in third countries or vice versa may be made in a wide range of situations in which the UK government is not involved and about which it does not have access to relevant information.

Annual Reports

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what support he is giving to UK-registered businesses to encourage reporting on an integrated reporting basis; and if he will make a statement.

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the potential benefits to shareholders of integrated reporting; and if he will make a statement.

Jo Swinson: I consulted extensively on changes to the reporting framework in 2013 and impact assessments, showing the costs and benefits, were published. Initial indications are that the Companies Act 2006 (Strategic Report and Directors’ Report) Regulations 2013 regulations, which are one form of integrated reporting, have made a positive impact and will help shareholders in their role as stewards of the companies they own.   Ultimately, good reporting should prevail regardless of the approach but there is nothing in regulation that prevents a company taking a different integrated approach to its reporting should it choose to.

Post Offices: East of England

Mr David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many sub-post office branches have closed in each local authority area in the East of England in each year since 2005.

Jo Swinson: The Post Office is managed by Post Office Ltd, which operates independently of Government. As the information requested is an operational matter for Post Office Ltd, I have asked Paula Vennells, Chief Executive Officer of Post Office Ltd, to reply to the hon. Member directly, and a copy will be placed in the libraries of the House.   It is, however, worth noting that in November 2010 published its policy statement, “Securing the Post Office network in the digital age”, which made clear commitments to end the programmes of branch closure of the previous administration, and to instead invest in maintaining and modernising a network of at least 11,500 branches that meets strict access criteria that see, for example, 99.7% of the population nationally living within three miles of a post office outlet.

Bureaucracy: EU Action

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what recent steps he has taken at a EU level to reduce bureaucracy.

Matthew Hancock: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Service Industries: EU Action

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what progress he has made on services liberalisation at an EU level; and if he will make statement.

Matthew Hancock: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Holiday Leave: Pay

Mr Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what representations the Government has received on the decision of the Employment Appeal Tribunal of 4 November 2014 in Bear Scotland and others v Mr David Fulton and others.

Jo Swinson: The Government has received many representations on this significant judgment about holiday pay. My Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills has convened a Taskforce of business representatives and Government departments to assess how we can limit the negative impact on business and jobs.   We are also discussing the implications of the judgment with a wide range of other representative bodies.

Holiday Leave: Pay

Mr Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what response the Government plans to make to the Employment Appeal Tribunal decision of 4 November 2014 in Bear Scotland and others v Mr David Fulton and others.

Jo Swinson: The Government respects the Employment Appeal Tribunal judgment on holiday pay and is urgently working through the detail.   Employers and workers can contact the ACAS helpline on 0300 123 1100 for free and confidential advice if they have any queries on their rights and responsibilities in respect of holiday pay.

Groceries Code Adjudicator

Ms Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of whether to give the Groceries Code Adjudicator the power to impose fines.

Jo Swinson: As required by section 9 of the Groceries Code Adjudicator Act 2013, the Adjudicator has consulted on a proposed maximum penalty, and has made a recommendation to the Secretary of State. This is currently the subject of cross-Government Ministerial consideration.

Apprentices

Mr Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many apprenticeships were (a) commenced and (b) completed in each year since 2009-10; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Boles: Information on the number of apprenticeship starts and achievements is published in Table 6.1 and Table 6.2 of a Statistical First Release (SFR): https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/learner-participation-outcomes-and-level-of-highest-qualification-held

Department for International Development

Developing Countries: Administration of Justice

Gavin Shuker: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what progress she has made in scaling up her Department's commercial legal programme LASER; and what funding has been allocated to LASER.

Justine Greening: The Legal Assistance for Economic Reform (LASER) programme began its implementation phase on 1 June 2014 and is working to improve the investment climates in eight countries across sub Saharan African and Asia, superseding its target to be engaged in six countries by 30 November 2014. DFID has allocated £4.7m to the LASER programme over three and half years.

International Climate Fund

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, with reference to intervention statement for the Climate Public Private Partnership (CP3) Platform, for what reason the UK's investment in the CP3 Asia Fund is made via a Scottish Limited Partnership.

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, with reference to the intervention statement for the Climate Public Private Partnership (CP3) Platform, which private equity firm manages the Scottish Limited Partnership for the UK's investment in the CP3 Asia Fund through this Scottish Limited Partnership; and what the cost is of the fees charged by the Scottish Limited Partnership.

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what the tax jurisdiction is for the Climate Public Private Partnership (CP3) Asia Fund and (b) International Finance Corporation Catalyst Fund.

Mr Desmond Swayne: The UK’s investment into the CP3 Asia Fund, named ‘Asia Climate Partners’, is a Cayman Islands based Limited Partnership. The UK’s investment into the IFC Catalyst Fund is through a Scottish limited partnership. The tax jurisdiction is therefore in the Cayman Islands for Asia Climate Partners, and in Scotland for the Catalyst Fund. There are no fees charged by either limited partnership. These jurisdictions were chosen because they comply with the OECD Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes. The IFC Catalyst Fund reached first close in November 2012 and the Asia Climate Partners reached first close in November 2014.

Developing Countries: Sustainable Development

Gavin Shuker: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, which stand-alone goals and targets the Government hopes to achieve in the forthcoming inter-governmental negotiations on the sustainable development goals.

Justine Greening: The intergovernmental negotiations process will commence in 2015 and the final framework of goals and targets is subject to negotiation in this forum.

Developing Countries: Sustainable Development

Gavin Shuker: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what progress the Government has made in negotiating specific targets for the delivery of peace, jobs and justice in the sustainable development goals.

Justine Greening: The Open Working Group Report’s proposals show that significant progress has been made in building consensus around the importance of including peace, jobs and justice in the final post-2015 framework.

Charities

Gavin Shuker: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much her Department has spent on its DfID Direct roadshows.

Mr Desmond Swayne: The DFID Direct Roadshows have incurred no costs to the department.

Arab States

Gavin Shuker: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many women in business in the Arab world have received mentoring and expert advice from counterparts in the UK and other G8 countries as part of the package announced at the G8 Deauville Partnership conference in London in June 2013.

Justine Greening: According to the most recent progress reports, 121 women have received mentoring and/or advice through the package announced at the G8 Deauville Partnership conference.

Africa

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she is taking to encourage the wider roll-out across Africa of recently trialled tests for Ebola used in Guinea.

Justine Greening: A rapid, point-of-care diagnostic test for the Ebola virus will be trialled in the coming weeks at the Ebola treatment centre in Conakry, Guinea. The trial is one of six health research projects that have been jointly funded by the Wellcome Trust and the UK government. If a point-of-care diagnostic test is shown to be ready for use in the response, it will be rolled out as quickly as possible across the region.

Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation

Mike Kane: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, at what intervals her Department plans to fund Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance between 2016 and 2020; what threshold will have to be met by other donors to ensure that her Department's funding to that organisation can be released; and at what intervals her Department plans to assess whether that threshold has been met.

Mr Desmond Swayne: The UK remains a strong and active supporter of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. The UK recently pledged up to £1 billion to Gavi for 2016 to 2020. The full UK contribution to Gavi will save a child’s life every two minutes. This funding will be disbursed in tranches on an annual basis. The full UK funding will be released so long as the total amount committed by donors meets Gavi’s replenishment target of $7.5 billion. Whether this threshold has been met will be assessed by DFID officials continually over the period 2016 – 2020.

Department for Education

Schools: Buildings

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when her Department expects to publish the data gathered through the Property Data Survey Programme.

Mr David Laws: The Property Data Survey Programme, which carried out high-level condition surveys of the school estate in England, completed its last survey in July 2014. To ensure that the data is sufficiently robust before it is put to any further use, I asked officials to share the data we had gathered with schools and responsible bodies and rectify any significant variances in the dataset. The deadline for feedback from schools and responsible bodies has recently passed and officials are presently considering where we need to update the survey information. Once this is completed, we will be giving further consideration to future publication of the data.

Headteachers

Mr Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many participants there were in each recent intake of the National Professional Qualification for Headship programme; and what guidance is issued to participants in that programme on conducting their first round of monitoring and evaluating teachers in a new school.

Mr David Laws: In financial year 2012/13, 1202 participants commenced the NPQH programme. In financial year 2013/14, 1140 participants commenced the NPQH programme.In the first half of the financial year 2014/15, 550 participants commenced the NPQH programme, there is a second application round opening on 11 December 2014. Further information can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/national-professional-qualification-for-headship-npqh#apply. NCTL licensed the delivery of leadership development, including the National Professional Qualification for Headteachers to School led consortiums in 2012. The qualifications are developed around a leadership curriculum combining a range of essential and elective modules. All qualifications have a rigorous final assessment process. There are no specific centrally-generated materials on the NPQH for participants on conducting their first round of monitoring and evaluating teachers in a new school. However the entry assessment process, which is administered by a commissioned provider, contains a leadership competence on “Holding to account”. Both this and the performance management of staff and appraisal are covered generically within the programme. In addition, the NPQH Essential modules, ‘Leading an effective school’ and ‘Leading and improving teaching’, which are mandatory, include content on teacher quality and standards, monitoring and evaluating teaching and performance management/appraisal. Licensees can enhance the modules by including additional material.

Schools: Asbestos

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to publish the report on her Department's review of asbestos policy in schools.

Mr David Laws: The Department is working with stakeholders, experts and the Health and Safety Executive to consider the latest evidence, and determine appropriate policy responses. We will provide an update on the management of asbestos in schools in the new year.

Free School Meals

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which local authorities have signed up to the online free school meal eligibility checking service.

Mr David Laws: All 152 English local authorities are signed up to the Eligibility Checking System (ECS). The ECS can be used to determine entitlement to both free school meals and free early education for two-year-olds, and the pattern of checks and frequency of use is different for each local authority.

Schools: Standards

Mr Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance her Department gives to secondary schools near grammar schools about setting realistic attainment targets for pupils; and what steps she is taking to reflect this in school performance tables for secondary schools.

Mr David Laws: The Department does not issue guidance on setting attainment targets for pupils. It is for teachers to use their professional judgement to set pupil targets.The Department sets floor standards against which schools will be measured in performance tables. From 2016 we are replacing the existing secondary school floor standard, based on the percentage of pupils achieving 5 or more A*- C grades including English and maths, with Progress 8. This is a measure based on the progress a pupil makes from KS2 (age 11) to a group of 8 subjects at the end of KS4 (age 16) compared to pupils with the same starting point.Progress 8 is a fairer way of measuring school performance as schools will no longer be disadvantaged by having a challenging intake.

Teachers

Mr Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the (a) financial cost and (b) cost of the effect on pupils' learning of replacing a teacher who leaves a school.

Mr David Laws: The Department for Education has not estimated the financial costs of replacing a teacher who leaves a school as teacher recruitment is undertaken directly by schools and local authorities. Evidence is clear that being taught by a good teacher has a significant impact on how well pupils achieve. We are therefore supporting schools to attract and retain high quality teachers, minimising any disruption to children’s learning. Official statistics show that teacher vacancy rates are declining and retention remains stable, with the majority of new teachers still teaching after five years. Children in England now have the best chance they have ever had of attending a good or outstanding school.

Teachers: Secondary Education

Mr Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans she has made to increase the number of high-quality secondary school teachers, other than the role of financial incentives.

Mr David Laws: The Department for Education is committed to recruiting high-quality graduates into the teaching profession, and we have a range of initiatives designed to attract the best potential teachers.In September 2014 we launched a new marketing campaign called ‘Your Future | Their Future’. We use a range of activities including national newspaper advertising, targeted digital communications and face-to-face events to reach excellent potential teachers, including career changers, and to persuade them to pursue a career in teaching.Additional funding has been made available to schools offering School Direct (salaried) places to boost starting salaries and encourage more experienced graduates to enter teacher training across a range of subjects. School Direct (salaried) is an employment-based route for high-quality, experienced graduates who earn a salary whilst training.We provide an information service for anyone looking to enter teaching through the Teaching Line. Those interested in teaching a priority subject are given access to the Premier Plus programme. This includes support from a dedicated recruitment advisor, access to exclusive events and regular communications with important news and application hints and tips.We have extended the School Experience Programme (SEP) this year to include non-funded subjects as well as funded priority subjects. SEP gives prospective teachers the chance to gain school experience, helping them to choose teaching as a career.Prestigious scholarship awards are available to outstanding graduates with a 2:1 or first-class degree in maths, physics, chemistry, and computing. Scholarships come with a package of non-financial benefits, such as membership of the appropriate professional body, mentoring, and continuous professional development.New entrants to initial teacher training are becoming better qualified. Overall, we have seen an increase each year in the percentage of new entrants who hold a first class or 2:1 degree; rising from 61% in 2009/10 to 73% in 2014/15.In addition, we have supported the expansion of Teach First , which focuses on getting the highest quality teachers into our most challenging schools, by more than doubling the number of programme participants since 2010, and ensuring the programme covers all English government regions.

A Level Content Advisory Board

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding her Department provided to the A-level Content Advisory Board in (a) 2011-12, (b) 2013-14 and (c) 2014-15.

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether funding of the A-level Content Advisory Board is included in her Department's current expenditure plans for 2015-16.

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the work of the A-level Content Advisory Board; and if she will publish any such assessments made.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The A-level Content Advisory Board (ALCAB) was established by the Russell Group in 2013, to review the subject content for facilitating A levels. The Department for Education provided £100,360.61 to ALCAB in 2013-14, and has provided £361,034.53 in 2014-15. No funds for ALCAB have been included in expenditure plans for 2015-16.ALCAB have made their final recommendations for A and AS level subject content in mathematics, further mathematics, modern languages, ancient languages, and geography. These new qualifications are designed to prepare young people to meet the demands of universities and employers. We will soon be publishing our response to ALCAB’s recommendations.

Pupils: Disadvantaged

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools have received the pupil premium to date; and what assessment her Department has made of the results and performance of that policy.

Mr David Laws: We are not able, in the time available, to assess how many schools have received the pupil premium in total since its introduction in 2011 as this data is not held in the format requested. However, in the 2013-14 financial year, 19,986 schools attracted funding due to having one or more pupils who had been registered for free school meals at any point in the previous six years. There were also 1,349 schools (maintained special schools, special academies, pupil referral units (PRUs) or Alternative Provision academies) for which the local authority received any pupil premium funding due, in line with the conditions of grant. These figures do not take into account schools receiving pupil premium plus for looked after children, as this funding was also allocated to local authorities to distribute. The gap in pupils achieving Level 4 or above in key stage 2 reading and mathematics has narrowed from 19.3 to 16.2 percentage points between 2011 and 2013. The gap in pupils achieving at least five good GCSEs including English and mathematics has narrowed from 27.4 to 26.7 percentage points over the same period. Whilst it is too soon to see significant evidence of the impact of the policy on the national attainment statistics, our assessments of the policy show an improving picture. Ofsted concurs with this view, and in its most recent report of July 2014 stated that schools are using the funding more effectively than ever before to raise the attainment of their disadvantaged pupils, and that gaps in many schools are beginning to close, in some cases quite quickly.

Teachers: Veterans

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many service leavers have (a) applied to and (b) been accepted onto the Troops to Teachers programme to date.

Mr David Laws: There are currently two cohorts for the Troops to Teachers programme. The first cohort started training in January 2014 with 41 trainees; the second started in September 2014 with 54 trainees. Cohort one attracted 982 applications, cohort 2 attracted 250. In total 1,232 Service Leavers have applied for the Troops to Teachers programme. The numbers of applications dropped between cohorts because we improved the process to eliminate applications from those who are ineligible.

Grammar Schools

Sir Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the amount of funding available for a sixth form pupil at a grammar school in (a) 2010, (b) 2005 and (c) the latest date for which figures are available.

Mr David Laws: In the academic year 2014/15 the base rate of funding for all full time 16-19 students funded by the Department for Education (including grammar school sixth forms) was £4,000. This is set out in the ‘Funding rates and formula’ guidance: www.gov.uk/government/publications/funding-guidance-for-young-people-2013-to-2014-rates-and-formula. The funding allocation for each institution includes factors that allocate additional funding for disadvantaged students, the nature of the learning programme, and area costs. As these factors are particular to each institution, the average per student will differ in each institution. It is not possible to give an average for grammar schools, as the Department does not identify them as a separate category from school sixth forms. It is not possible to give figures for 2005 and 2010 that are comparable to 2014/15, as there were significant differences in the funding systems used in those years.

Supply Teachers

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much was spent on supply teachers in England in the academic years (a) 2009-10, (b) 2010-11, (c) 2011-12 and (d) 2012-13.

Mr David Laws: The available data for local authority maintained schools is shown in Table 1. Data for the 2013-14 financial year will be published on 11 December and will be available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-local-authority-school-finance-data.Table 1School expenditure on supply teachers (1) in Local Authority maintained nursery, primary, secondary and special schools Coverage: England Years: 2009-10 to 2012-13 Financial years School expenditure on supply teachers £000s 2009-10 £1,043,302 2010-11 £1,049,209 2011-12 £917,309 2012-13 £893,389 Source: Section 251 Outturn (9-10, 10-11 and 11-12), Consistent Financial Reporting survey (12-13)(1) Includes supply teaching staff, agency supply teaching staff and supply teacher insurance.  The available data for academies is shown in Table 2. The department does not hold data on academies’ income and expenditure before the 2010/11 academic year. Data for the 2013/14 academic year for academies will be available in the summer of 2015.Table 2School expenditure on supply teachers (1)(2) in academies(3)(4)Coverage: England  Years: 2010/11 to 2012/13   Academic years School expenditure on supply teachers £000s   2010/11 £31,228  2011/12 £101,573  2012/13 £176,384   Source: Academies Accounts Returns   (1) 2010/11 data includes salaries and wages for supply staff only.  (2) 2011/12 and 2012/13 data includes salaries and wages for supply teaching staff employed directly by the school, premiums paid to insurers for supply teacher cover and includes costs paid to an agency for teaching staff that have been brought in to cover teacher absence. Includes cover of any period and for all reasons including illness, absence for training, and any leave.  (3) Figures include only those academies that were open for the whole of the respective reporting year.  (4) Academies report finance data on an academic year basis, running September to August.   The information is provided in separate tables for academies and local authority maintained schools since there are some important differences between the two data collections. In particular, data for local authority maintained school funding covers financial years, whereas academy school funding data covers academic years.

Ministry of Justice

Crown Dependencies

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department has had discussions with the Crown Dependencies on the establishment of beneficial ownership registers for those companies incorporated under their jurisdiction; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Shailesh Vara: The Prime Minister has made clear that he would like a publicly accessible central register of company beneficial ownership to be the new international standard. Her Majesty's Treasury and other Departments are in dialogue with the Crown Dependencies about UK policy in this area and progress on the wider G20 transparency agenda. The role of my Department is to manage the constitutional relationship between the UK and the Crown Dependencies. We have discussed the subject of beneficial ownership with the Crown Dependencies where it impacts on that relationship. As self-governing Dependencies of the Crown with their own directly elected legislative assemblies, administrative, fiscal and legal systems and their own courts of law, the establishment of company beneficial ownership registers rests with the government in each jurisdiction.

Harassment: Social Networking

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to prevent people who have been convicted for online harassment or hate crime accessing any other social media internet platforms.

Mr Shailesh Vara: The Government is absolutely clear that abusive or threatening behaviour, or harassment, online or offline, is totally unacceptable. A number of offences may be committed by such behaviour, in particular under section 1 of the Malicious Communications Act 1988 or section 127 of the Communications Act 2003. Changes to the law being taken forward in the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill will help to ensure that people who commit those offences are prosecuted and properly punished. Online harassment could also amount to an offence under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 if it is carried out as part of a ‘course of conduct’ which amounts to harassment or puts someone in fear of violence. Where any crime is motivated by or demonstrates hatred based on certain characteristics (such as sexual orientation) of the victim, the courts must take this into account in passing sentence. The Government expects social media companies to have robust processes in place to respond promptly when abuse is reported; including acting quickly to assess the report, removing content which does not comply with the acceptable use policies or terms and conditions in place and, where appropriate, suspending or terminating the accounts of those breaching the rules in place. Where a convicted offender receives a community order or a suspended sentence order the court may impose requirements, including a prohibited activity requirement, which could be used to restrict use of the internet or social media. Where a convicted offender receives an immediate custodial sentence and is released on licence a condition could be imposed to limit the offender’s access and use of the internet. Licence conditions are set by the prison governor or Parole Board. We have no plans for further legislation to inhibit convicted offenders from accessing social media.

Courts: Interpreters

Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what guidance his Department has issued to courts on their obligation to provide interpreter services.

Mr Shailesh Vara: Guidance is available to all court staff which clearly outlines the circumstances under which the Department is obliged to provide interpreter services. The EU Right to Interpretation and Translation in Criminal Proceedings Directive require the criminal courts to take every reasonable step to identify whether a defendant needs interpretation. The interpreting contract was introduced to tackle the inefficiencies and inconsistencies in the previous system. The contract has delivered significant improvements so far and we now have a system that is robust, sustainable and able to deliver a quality service at an affordable level. As a result of the contract, we have spent £27m less in the first two years it has been running, and it continues to reduce the burden on taxpayers.

Shoplifting: East of England

Mr David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many incidents of shoplifting in each parliamentary constituency in the East of England have led to a conviction resulting in (a) probation and (b) a custodial sentence in each year since 2006.

Mike Penning: Shoplifting can be a serious offence which can damage livelihoods. For cases taken to court there is a wide range of sentences available on conviction, including custody for the most serious examples.Sentencing in individual cases is a matter for the courts, taking into account the circumstances of each case and imposing a sentence which is proportionate to the seriousness of the offence.Defendants proceeded against, found guilty and sentenced to a community sentence or immediate custody for shoplifting offences in the East of England, by police force area, from 2006 to 2013 can be viewed in the table. Data cannot be separately analysed by parliamentary constituency.



Shoplifting sentences East of England 2006-2013
(Excel SpreadSheet, 35.5 KB)

Administration of Estates

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to enable the executors of an estate to access the funds held in an executor's bank account prior to obtaining grant of probate to allow them to better manage that estate.

Mr Shailesh Vara: A bank may permit an executor to withdraw money from the deceased’s bank account before probate is granted. However, the bank in question will be liable to the deceased’s estate if it releases funds to the wrong person. The bank may therefore insist on production of proof of the executor’s right to administer the deceased’s estate, namely the grant of probate, before releasing the money. The Government considers that this strikes a fair balance between the parties and has no plans to change the law at present. Information about the role of executors and the significance of the grant of probate is available from various sources including https://www.gov.uk/wills-probate-inheritance/overview and http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/ihtmanual/ihtm05101.htm.

Courts: Video Conferencing

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department has determined the technology and security specifications required for new remote video links to ensure they are compatible with any future roll-out of pre-recording evidence; and when he plans to make these specifications available to local police and crime commissioners.

Mr Shailesh Vara: My officials will be engaging with local Criminal Justice Boards and with Police and Crime Commissioners concerning the identification of funding and suitable sites for the operation of remote video links for witnesses. Part of this work will involve liaising with those procuring the equipment. The pre-recorded cross-examination pilot (section 28 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999) is being evaluated. Ministers will make a decision on rollout of the scheme once the interim evaluation reports are available in March 2015. The technical and security specifications will be agreed following that decision.

Prisoners: Islam

Mr Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many Muslim prisoners there are in England and Wales.

Andrew Selous: Information on the number of offenders in prison by self-declared religion (including Islam) in England and Wales is published routinely in the ‘Offender Management Statistics Quarterly bulletin’ and can be found in Table 1.5. Copies of the publication are available from the Library of the House and via the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/368442/prison-population-q3-2014.xlsPlease note that the religion of prisoners is self declared and prisoners are under no obligation to declare their religion.

Ministry of Defence

USA

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many service personnel are currently billeted with the US Marine Corps at (a) MAG-26, (b) VMFAT-101, (c) MAG-39 and (d) MAWTS-1; and what are their roles.

Mr Mark Francois: Holding answer received on 01 December 2014



Two individuals are currently billeted as exchange pilots within the units to which the hon. Member refers.

Libya

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 21 November 2014 to Question 213404, what assessment his Department has made of the likelihood of success in the negotiations with the Libyan government on repayment of the remaining £14.7 million of the additional costs of the recent training programme for Libyan Armed Forces personnel.

Mr Mark Francois: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 1 December 2014 to Question UIN 215598.



Hansard Extract
(Word Document, 32 KB)

Afghanistan

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what financial and logistical support has been provided to Afghan nationals who have provided contract translation services to UK military and medical auxiliary personnel since 2001 but are no longer in the employ of the armed forces of British authorities in Afghanistan; and what assistance is provided to assist such translators in applying for political asylum in the UK in circumstances where they face death threats in Afghanistan.

Mr Mark Francois: The Ministry of Defence has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Armed Forces: Chemicals

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Armed Forces personnel have reported exposure to what types of chemicals in what situations in each year since 2003.

Mr Mark Francois: The Ministry of Defence has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Armed Forces: Animals

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 6 February 2012 to Question 92634, whether any of the bodies of deceased working military animals have entered the food chain since 2010.

Anna Soubry: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) takes a number of steps to ensure that deceased working military animals do not enter the food chain. When an animal dies the body is passed to contractors approved by the Animal and Plant Health Agency for disposal in accordance with the appropriate animal welfare, hazardous waste and healthcare regulations. In the case of military horses the MOD retains the horse passport and returns it to the organisation which issued the passport. This is in accordance with the 2009 Horse Passport Regulations

Defence: Procurement

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the date was of (a) initial gate, (b) main gate and (c) contract signature was for the (i) A400M Training Service, (ii) Airseeker, (iii) Brimstone 2, (iv) Beyond Visual Range Air to Air Missile on Lightning II, (v) Common Missile Compartment, (vi) Core Production Capability, (vii) Crypto Enabling Services and (viii) De-Equip, Defuel and Layup Preparations Facility projects.

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the date was of (a) initial gate, (b) main gate and (c) contract signature was for the (i) GRAPEVINE 2, (ii) Joint Combat Aircraft - Production Sustainment and Follow On Development phase, (iii) Land Environment Tactical Communications and Information Systems, (iv) Typhoon Meteor Integration, (v) MARSHALL, (vi) Merlin Life Sustainment Programme, (vii) Mine countermeasure, Hydrographic and Patrol Capability and (viii) Mode 5 Identification Friend and Foe projects.

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the date was of (a) initial gate, (b) main gate and (c) contract signature was for the (i) Next Generation Nuclear Propulsion Plant, (ii) Scavenger, (iii) Scout SV, (iv) SPEAR Capability 3, (v) Short Range Anti Air Missile Sustainment, (vi) Stormshadow integration on Typhoon, (vii) Submarine Dismantling Project and (viii) Successor projects.

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the date was of (a) initial gate, (b) main gate and (c) contract signature was for the (i) Defence Core Network Services - GRAPEVINE, (ii) Defence Information Infrastructure Increment 2C, (iii) E-Purchasing, (iv) Future Local Area Aid Defence System (FLAADS) (Maritime) - T23, (v) FLAADS (Land), (vi) Future Anti-Surface Guided Weapon Heavy, (vii) Future Anti-Surface Guided Weapon - Light and (viii) Ground Based Aid Defence - Falkland Islands projects.

Mr Philip Dunne: The dates for Initial Gate and, where completed, Main Gate and contract signature for each of the programmes and projects listed are provided in the attached table. The contract signature date has been taken to refer to a post-Main Gate manufacture phase contract. Contract signature dates for any contracts let earlier in the Concept, Assessment, Development, Manufacturing, In-Service and Disposal (CADMID) cycle, such as those for Assessment or Demonstration phases, or contracts let for Long Lead items, have not been included. However, for those programmes where the information requested is not complete, a note on their current status has been provided.  



Programmes and Projects Lists 
(Word Document, 72 KB)

Afghanistan

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many locally-employed Afghan interpreters who worked alongside the British Army have resettled to the UK under his Department's resettlement package.

Mr Mark Francois: A total of 36 interpreters have been relocated to the UK with 19 family members during the past four months as part of the ex-gratia redundancy scheme. The relocation programme requires appropriate identity, health, medical and security checks for the individual and any immediate family. We expect the pace of relocations to increase significantly in the New Year.

Afghanistan

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many locally-employed Afghan patrol interpreters who worked alongside the British Army between November 2013 and October 2014 have applied for resettlement in the UK.

Mr Mark Francois: Of the 321 Afghan patrol interpreters who worked alongside UK forces between November 2013 and October 2014, 237 no longer work with us. Of these, 218 have applied for UK relocation.

Afghanistan

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many locally-employed Afghan patrol interpreters who worked alongside the British Army between November 2013 and October 2014 are eligible to apply for resettlement in UK.

Mr Mark Francois: Of the 321 Afghan patrol interpreters who worked alongside UK forces between November 2013 and October 2014, 237 no longer work with us. Of these, 228 are eligible for relocation to the UK. 84 are still working for us and their eligibility will be confirmed at the point of redundancy.

Armed Forces: Recruitment

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department is on schedule to introduce the advanced IT system developed in partnership with Capita to manage the recruitment of regular and reserve soldiers by February 2015.

Mr Julian Brazier: Construction of the Capita ICT platform was originally due for completion in February 2015, to be followed by testing and transfer of data prior to going live. Capita remain committed to delivering the new enhanced recruiting website by July 2015 as part of the new ICT Platform.

Security

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many security breaches have been recorded by the Ministry of Defence in each year since 2010; and what action has been taken following each such breach.

Anna Soubry: The numbers of security incidents recorded centrally within the Ministry of Defence (MOD) in each of the years in question is set out in the table below. The figures relate to incidents in which information has not been fully protected, including lost documents, missing computer media and possible unauthorised access to classified information. These figures also include incidents which represented a failure of a control but did not result in the loss of any information. The vast majority of incidents did not have any significant ramifications for Defence security. The apparent increase in incidents is attributed to a progressively increasing readiness to report even minor breaches, not to systematic failings in security protection. Table Number of Information Security Incidents by Year YearTotal20108852011893201292020131,194  The MOD treats all breaches of security very seriously. All reported breaches are subjected to an initial security risk assessment with further action taken on a proportionate basis. We do not maintain central records of the specific action taken following each of the breaches.

NATO Response Force

Mr Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the written Answer of 17 November 2014 to Question 213740, whether the NATO MQ9 Users Group will be available for use as part of the NATO rapid reaction force.

Mr Mark Francois: The NATO MQ-9 Users Group will promote cooperation, commonality, cost efficiency, and interoperability between members but will not generate operational capability. The first meetings are due to be held in Paris during January 2015.

Middle East

Mr Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether any personnel from Reaper Squadron 39 have been deployed to (a) Al Udeid air base, Qatar, (b) Al Minhad airbase, United Arab Emirates and (c) Al Musannah airbase, Oman.

Mr Mark Francois: I am withholding this information as its disclosure would or would be likely to prejudice operational capability, effectiveness or security; also relations between the United Kingdom and other states.

Syria

Mr Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Written Statement of 21 October 2014, Official Report, column 63WS, whether laser designators on UK Reapers carrying out surveillance missions in Syria are marking targets.

Mr Mark Francois: Laser designators on UK Reapers have not been used to mark targets in Syria.

Vetting

Mr Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of IT systems used in the national security vetting process.

Mr Julian Brazier: There have been a series of recent checks to confirm the adequacy of the IT systems used in the national security vetting process. These include: a comprehensive Defence Information Assurance audit, penetration tests and the re-awarding of the vetting system by the Defence Assurance Information Secretary. In addition, a complete refresh of all the electronic forms used in the vetting process is planned to take place in 2015.

Vetting

Mr Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent representations he has received about delays in the national security vetting process.

Anna Soubry: The Ministry of Defence has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Afghanistan

Mr Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 15 October 2014 to Question 209575, whether the Government has had any discussions with the administration of the US on future basing of UK Reapers in Afghanistan in connection with Operation Resolute Support 2015.

Mr Mark Francois: The Ministry of Defence has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Type 26 Frigates

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which blocks of the Type 26 Frigate of what value will be built in Portsmouth.

Mr Philip Dunne: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 24 November 2014 to Question 214764 to the member for Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock (Ms Osborne).



Hansard Extract  Type 26 Frigates 
(Word Document, 25 KB)

Department for Work and Pensions

Jobcentre Plus

Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what guidance his Department issues to jobcentres on their obligation to provide interpreter services.

Esther McVey: To meet the Department’s duties under Equality Act 2010 we make suitable provision to communicate with claimants and customers who do not speak English or Welsh (for people residing in Wales), or who are deaf, hard of hearing or speech impaired. We have policy and procedures in place for staff to provide an interpreter for claimants and customers where there is a requirement to do so. The Department has issued internal communications to staff on Interpreting Services and has embedded the policy and procedures into internal guidance. Staff use this guidance to know how to recognise when a customer or claimant is in need of an interpreter and how to make the appropriate arrangements.

Work Programme

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support his Department gives to a Work Programme sub-contractor to which a prime provider has refused to make a contractual payment; and if he will make a statement.

Esther McVey: Holding answer received on 04 December 2014



 The Department's contracts for delivering the Work Programme are with the prime contractors and we do not get involved in the contractual relationships prime providers have with their sub-contractors. The Department expects sub-contractors to be treated fairly. That’s why we have launched the Merlin Standard, a set of behaviours prime providers are expected to live up to in their relationships with their sub-contractors. The Merlin Mediation Service delivered by the Independent Case Examiner is available for complaints of non-compliance with the Merlin Standard, relating to DWP contracts.

Personal Independence Payment

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent steps he has taken to reduce the length of time it takes for a decision to be reached on eligibility for personal independence payments.

Mr Mark Harper: The department has made a number of improvements to reduce times. For example, we have significantly increased staffing resources and improved IT processes. The improvements also include both providers increasing the number of health professionals they employ and opening more assessment centres.

Housing Benefit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Government's commitment in its response to the Oakley Review, Cm 8904, to implement an IT solution so that local authorities are given the information they need to suspend housing benefit only in cases where it is appropriate to do so, what progress has been made in implementing such a solution; whether the planned implementation date of Autumn 2014 was achieved; and if he will make a statement.

Esther McVey: Following Matthew Oakley’s report we have implemented a number of improvements to communications to ensure that claimants understand the sanctions process and can take the necessary action.An investigation of housing benefit with local authorities showed that the IT solution is working to specification and correct notifications are being sent. As a safeguard we have also improved guidance to ensure that staff advise all claimants, when sanctioned, to inform their local authority so that their housing benefit is not inadvertently stopped.We will continue to monitor the position in cooperation with local authorities.

Jobseeker's Allowance

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many families claiming jobseeker's allowance with dependent children have been sanctioned since October 2012; and how many such people have subsequently had their sanction rescinded.

Esther McVey: The information as requested is not available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Employment and Support Allowance

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many families claiming employment and support allowance with dependent children have been sanctioned since December 2012; and how many such people have subsequently had their sanction rescinded.

Mr Mark Harper: The information as requested is not available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Jobseeker's Allowance

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Answer of 25 March 2013 to Question 149822 and pursuant to the Answer of 1 December 2014 to Question 215974, how much additional jobseeker's allowance in total claimants subject to a fixed sanction would have received if they had continued to be on the benefit for the length of time of their sanction in (a) 2012-13 and (b) 2013-14.

Esther McVey: The Department doesn’t make an estimate the amount of benefit that would have been withheld as a result of benefit sanctions. Sanctions are designed to ensure claimants comply with their requirements in order to move off benefits and into work. The answer of 25 March 2013, Official Report, column 986W, on social security benefits made clear, it is not possible to robustly estimate the actual amounts withheld as we do not know what would have happened in the absence of sanctions. For example, of claimants who leave benefit during a sanction - some may have left irrespective of the sanction being applied, and some may have left because of the sanction.

Employment and Support Allowance: Bootle

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many employment and support allowance applicants are awaiting for a medical assessment at Bootle Assessment Centre.

Mr Mark Harper: There are 3,713 people who have been referred to Atos Healthcare and, following a review by a healthcare professional, will require an appointment at the Assessment Centre in Bootle for a Work Capability Assessment (WCA).

Employment and Support Allowance

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average time has been that employment and support allowance applicants waited for a medical assessment by a doctor since the implementation of that allowance.

Mr Mark Harper: For completed initial assessments for new claims to ESA for the period from October 2008 to December 2013 the median time taken from the issue of the ESA50 questionnaire to the claimant and the assessment date is 68 days. Medical assessments are not solely carried out by doctors but by a range of health care professionals.

Employment and Support Allowance

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether there is a contractual timeframe for carrying out medical assessments after receipt of an employment and support allowance application.

Mr Mark Harper: There is no contractual timeframe for carrying out medical assessments after receipt of an employment and support allowance application.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Avian Influenza: Yorkshire and the Humber

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent reports she has received on the outbreak of H5N8 avian flu in Yorkshire.

George Eustice: The Secretary of State receives daily updates on the outbreak of avian flu in East Ridings, Yorkshire.   As at 3 December 2014, the number of confirmed cases remains at one and Defra continues to take robust action to control this outbreak and to prevent a further spread of the disease.

Bees

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to tackle the bee disease foulbrood.

Dan Rogerson: The Healthy Bee Plan sets out the Government’s approach to tackling our highest risks to bee health, which includes foulbrood. It is published at http://www.nationalbeeunit.com/index.cfm?sectionid=41.   The National Bee Unit has an extensive risk-based surveillance programme in place to check for bee pests and diseases, including American and European foulbrood. The programme targets apiaries that are at a higher risk of disease. Both American foulbrood and European foulbrood are notifiable. Where a case of European foulbrood is identified, the colony is destroyed or treated. For American foulbrood, the colony is destroyed and the hive boxes are sterilised. After treatment, beekeepers are not allowed to move bees from their apiary until a Bee Inspector has visited and confirmed the apiary is free of foulbrood.   The Government is working with beekeeping associations to deliver guidance, advice and training on American foulbrood and European foulbrood prevention measures (such as biosecurity and barrier management), good husbandry and disease recognition. We are also working with professional bee farmers to establish an accreditation scheme which allows beekeepers with the appropriate training and practices to take greater responsibility for identification and control of foulbrood in their hives.   One of the projects funded under the Insect Pollinators Initiative developed modelling systems for managing bee disease by studying the epidemiology of European foulbrood. The final report for this project was recently submitted. Defra has previously funded research on European foulbrood, including the shook swarm method for managing European foulbrood. Final reports are available for these projects.

Farms: Waste Disposal

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to ensure that green waste disposed on farmland does not contain plastic bags and other non-biodegradable material.

Dan Rogerson: The Environment Agency regulates the recovery and disposal of green waste on farmland through a system of environmental permits or registered exemptions issued under the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010. The permit stipulates the types and quantities of waste that may be handled and imposes other conditions in order to protect human health and the environment.   Quality Protocols, supported by Publicly Available Standards such as those for compost (PAS 100) and the digestate from anaerobic digestion (PAS 110) are also in place. If these standards are met, the output is considered to be completely recycled and is no longer subject to waste management controls. These specifications allow only ‘source-segregated biodegradable’ inputs and this includes biodegradable garden and kitchen wastes collected from households. PAS 100 specifications include stringent limits on physical contaminants - such as metal, plastic and glass - that can be present in the finished composts.

Home Office

Travel Restrictions: Malawi

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Malawi nationals are on the UK travel ban list.

James Brokenshire: Holding answer received on 20 November 2014



There are no Malawi nationals on the UN and EU travel bans that are implemented by the UK.

Travel Restrictions: Ethiopia

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Ethiopian nationals are on the UK travel ban list.

James Brokenshire: Holding answer received on 20 November 2014



There are no Ethiopian nationals on the UN and EU travel bans that are implemented by the UK.

Human Trafficking

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many human trafficking investigations have been commenced by the National Crime Agency in each of the last five years.

Karen Bradley: Holding answer received on 27 November 2014



When the National Crime Agency was established on 7 October 2013 eight human trafficking investigations were under way. A further eight have since been commenced. The NCA has also provided specialist support to a further 51 investigations led by other law enforcement agencies involving human trafficking.

UK Border Force

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many seasonal staff in the Border Force are employed on zero hour contracts.

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of changes in the number of seasonal staff in the Border Force on (a) queuing times and (b) customs activities.

James Brokenshire: No seasonal staff in Border Force are employed on zero hours contracts.The deployment of seasonal workers has bolstered Border Force capability during forecasted busy periods by assisting the processing of passengers within service level agreement times, and has released permanent staff from the Primary Control Point to carry out important customs activities.

Marriage of Convenience

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government has taken to reduce the number of sham marriages in the UK.

James Brokenshire: Sham marriages are an abuse of our marriage laws by those seeking to circumvent immigration controls. We have significantly increased our enforcement activity against sham marriages, with 1,335 interventions in 2013-14, resulting in 840 arrests and 294 removals.From 2 March 2015, Part 4 of the Immigration Act 2014 will provide important new powers to tackle sham marriages and civil partnerships. Subject to Parliamentary approval of the necessary secondary legislation, this will include a new referral and investigation scheme for proposed marriages and civil partnerships across the UK involving a non-European Economic Area national who could benefit in immigration terms.This will give the Home Office more time and scope to identify and investigate suspected sham marriages and civil partnerships and to take effective enforcement or casework action. Further information is contained in my Written Statement on 24 November 2014, Columns 21-22WS.

HM Passport Office

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether Passport Office staff who were previously made redundant are permitted to apply for existing or forthcoming vacancies.

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, under what methodology her Department decides staffing levels at the Passport Office.

James Brokenshire: Holding answer received on 02 December 2014



Home Office policy provides that if a former employee was made redundant and then applies for a vacancy, their application would be considered if there had been a gap of six months or more since their exit and there were no live warnings relating to the former employee when they left. Staffing levels at HM Passport Office are determined in the light of HMPO's forecast of likely passport demand.

Detection Rates

Mr David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the crime detection rate was in (a) Bury St Edmunds constituency, (b) Suffolk and (c) England and Wales in each year since 2010.

Lynne Featherstone: There was a significant change from the former detections framework to the new outcomes framework in April 2013. The new outcomes framework includes a broader range of "outcomes" for crimes dealt with by the police. This provides greater transparency on how crimes are resolved when compared with the former detections framework which only covered a subset of the new outcomes and, therefore, of the ways crimes are "resolved". Information on the new outcomes framework and data for England and Wales were published by the Home Office in its "Crime Outcomes in England and Wales 2013/14" bulletin, alongside the number of outcomes in each police force area. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/crime-outcomes-in-england-and-wales-2013-to-2014While statistics published from 2013/14 onward focus on the new outcomes framework rather than detections, it is technically possible to calculate the former detection rates. Figures for Suffolk Police and England and Wales are shown in the table provided. It is not possible to provide data for Bury St Edmunds constituency as outcomes data are collected at police force area level.   



Former detections rates 
(Excel SpreadSheet, 24 KB)

Proceeds of Crime: East of England

Mr David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the monetary value was of assets (a) seized and (b) frozen under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 in each police force area in the East of England in each year since 2010.

Karen Bradley: The amount recovered by each police force under the Proceeds of Crime Act and the previous asset recovery legislation is provided in Table A. There is no provision for police forces to freeze assets under the Proceeds of Crime Act; however we are able to provide force-by-force breakdowns of the amount of cash seized and value of property subjected to a restraint order during a criminal investigation or proceeding. A proportion of this may be deemed by the courts to be subject to forfeiture or confiscation. Table B provides figures for the amounts seized or restrained.More assets have been recovered since 2010 than ever before, although prosecutors face greater difficulties in obtaining restraint orders following the impact of the Court of Appeal decision in Windsor & Ors v Crown Prosecution Service [2011] EWCA Crim 143. The Government has taken steps to address this by bringing forward provisions in the Serious Crime Bill, which is currently before Parliament, to lower the legal test for restraint in order to make it easier to obtain restraint orders earlier in investigations.We are working with operational partners to ensure that the use of restraint orders is considered at the outset of all appropriate investigations. 



Table A -  Assets recovered
(Word Document, 20.35 KB)




Table B - Cash seized & assets restrained
(Word Document, 95 KB)

Asylum: East of England

Mr David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much her Department has paid to each local authority in the East of England in asylum seeker support in each year since 1997.

James Brokenshire: Payments to local authorities in the East of England in respect of asylum seeker support for the financial years between 2002-03 and 2013-14 are shown in the following table. Data for previous years are not available at the required level of analysis and it would incur disproportionate cost to provide the information for the years before 2002-03.   



Payments to local authorities
(Excel SpreadSheet, 26 KB)

Asylum

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 17 November 2014 to Question 214623, what the five most common reasons were for an appeal being granted in each of the years referred to in the Answer.

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 17 November 2014 to Question 214623, how many asylum appeals were overturned owing to new evidence being submitted.

James Brokenshire: This information is not recorded centrally and is not readily available. It could only be provided at disproportionate cost, by undertaking a manual case-by-case examination of each allowed asylum appeal determination issued by the Tribunal for the periods in question.

Entry Clearances: Kuwait

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the costs of extending the electronic visa waiver scheme to Kuwait.

James Brokenshire: Holding answer received on 04 December 2014



The Home Secretary made a statement on the electronic visa waiver scheme on 9 December 2013 (HC Deb, 9 December 2013, c4WS). Further information on the extension of that scheme to Kuwait is unable to be disclosed as it relates to matters of international relations and national security.

Counter-terrorism

Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she expects to receive the report from the investigation by the Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation into Investigatory Powers.

James Brokenshire: Sections 7(3) and 7(4) of the Data Retention and Investigatory Powers Act 2014 provide that the Independent Reviewer must, so far as reasonably practicable, complete the review before 1 May 2015 and must send to the Prime Minister a report on the outcome of the review as soon as reasonably practicable after completing the review.

Immigration Controls: Heathrow Airport

Mr David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, on how many occasions since 1 July 2014 border gates at Heathrow Terminals 1 to 5, other than e gates, have been closed to EU passport holders.

James Brokenshire: Border Force Heathrow does not record desk occupancy as they operate a flexible approach in resourcing the immigration control. Fixed resources are deployed at each terminal between the non-EEA control and the EEA/EU control and, if required, flexible teams from across the estate are deployed to support the fixed terminal staff in times of increased passenger flow.This is done in advance by Border Force's central resourcing team, matching resource levels to expected demand and on the day through proactive management by duty managers with the aim of operating within agreed service level agreements with the airport authority (95% of the time within 25 minutes for EEA/EU and 95% of the time within 45 minutes for non-EEA/EU). Since 1 July 2014 Border Force has consistently been meeting these service standards for the EEA control at each of the Heathrow terminals.

Terrorism

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress her Department has made on working with internet companies to restrict access to terrorist material which is hosted overseas but is illegal under UK law.

James Brokenshire: We have made considerable progress in restricting online access to terrorist related material, the majority of which is hosted overseas. Since February 2010, the police Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit (CTIRU) has secured the removal of more than 65,000 pieces of unlawful terrorist-related content, with over 46,000 of these removed since the start of this year.Where the police cannot remove terrorist content, we are working with Internet Service Providers to further restrict access to this material and identify other legal but harmful extremist content to be included in family-friendly filters.

Radicalism

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress her Department has made with the internet industry on improving the process for members of the public to report extremist content online.

James Brokenshire: There is a clear role for the internet industry to ensure there are simple and easy flagging mechanisms for the public to report terrorist and extremist content. Some companies have these already, but we are encouraging other platforms to reach the standards of the best. We have also improved the process for public reporting of terrorist and extremist content to the police.Members of the public can report content of concern to the Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit (CTIRU) via an online tool on the Gov.uk website which was updated in March 2014.

Police and Crime Commissioners

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure that police and crime commissioners are accountable to the public.

Mike Penning: Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) are held accountable by the most effective check on any politician: the ballot box. This democratic power did not exist before 2012, when we replaced invisible, unaccountable police authorities with directly elected PCCs. Under the old system, the public had no say in who served as a police authority chairman or member and more than 5.8 million votes have been cast for PCCs since their introduction.The rules on the dismissal of a PCC are stronger than those for similar directly elected roles, such as MPs. Police and Crime Panels hold the power to suspend a PCC charged with an offence which carries a maximum sentence above two years imprisonment. Any PCC found guilty of an imprisonable offence (whether or not a custodial sentence is handed down) is immediately disqualified from holding office.The Home Secretary has said that there is a debate to be had on the issue of PCC recall, and the Government will listen carefully to the views of the Home Affairs Select Committee, of Parliament, and of the public more generally, and will reflect upon these views.

Identification of Criminals

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what arrangements she has made with the governments of (a) Romania and (b) Bulgaria on the sharing of (i) DNA and fingerprints and (ii) other criminal intelligence; and what form such arrangements take.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Entry Clearances: Overseas Students

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what changes relating to overseas students her Department has made to the points-based immigration system since May 2010.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Travel Restrictions: USA

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department takes account of the US travel ban list in determining whether to grant visa applications.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Vetting

Sir Richard Shepherd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when her Department last reviewed the time taken by the West Midlands Constabulary to complete a Disclosure and Barring Service application.

Karen Bradley: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Vetting

Sir Richard Shepherd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what sanctions her Department has available to take against a Constabulary which takes over 90 working days to process a Disclosure and Barring Service application.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Vetting

Sir Richard Shepherd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when her officials last met officials from the Department for Health to consider the effect of late Disclosure and Barring clearances on the employment of hospital and care home workers.

Karen Bradley: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Government Car Service

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many cars from the Government Car Service have been allocated to her Department in each of the last four years; and what the total cost to her Department has been of using these cars in each such year.

Karen Bradley: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Licensing Laws

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Answers of 9 July 2013 to Question 163513 and 11 February 2014 to Question 186834, whether she still plans to introduce full-cost recovery for alcohol licensing fees through locally set fees.

Lynne Featherstone: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Social Networking

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 1 December 2014 to Question 215990, for which campaigns advertisements have been placed on social media; and how much was spent in that fashion on each such campaign.

Karen Bradley: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Direct Selling: Fraud

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to tackle fraud perpetrated by telephone cold callers.

Karen Bradley: The Government takes all types of fraud extremely seriously. We are working closely with law enforcement agencies and industry to pursue and disrupt criminal activities, ensure that members of the public have the knowledge to protect themselves, and prevent criminals from using telephones to exploit vulnerable victims. The City of London Police is the national lead force for fraud, and runs Action Fraud, the national reporting point for fraud and financially-motivated cyber crime. All reports made to Action Fraud are analysed for links between separate victims of the same scams. Where these are found, intelligence packages are sent to the police force best placed to consider enforcement action. In 2013/14, there were 40,000 intelligence reports disseminated to police forces in this way. We expect this number to increase this year and are working with the City of London Police, and their partners, to deliver further improvements. We are also working closely with Financial Fraud Action UK, which has issued advice to consumers on how to protect themselves from phone scammers. This includes recognising when they might be targeted by criminals, and knowing not to give out sensitive details, such as four-digit PIN numbers, which a bank will never ask for.Finally, Ofcom has worked closely with the Metropolitan Police Service, Action Fraud and landline providers to prevent criminals exploiting phone lines to trick and defraud members of the public. The majority of landline providers have reduced the time a call remains open after one party hangs up down to two seconds. This makes it much more difficult for criminals to exploit phone lines in this way.

Energy

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she has taken to insulate her Departmental estate in order to improve energy efficiency; and if she will make a statement.

Karen Bradley: Insulation of the Departmental estate is routinely considered and installed to comply with building regulations, energy-efficiency programmes and through the application of the mandatory Government Buying Standards (GBS) for construction and refurbishment projects. Specific details are held at project level and not centrally recorded or aggregated.

Scotland Office

Income Tax

Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to the Answer of 11 November 2014 to Question 213288, what the name and job title is of each member of the programme board.

Mr Alistair Carmichael: The members of the HMRC's Scotland Act Implementation Programme Board are:Sarah Walker (HMRC, Senior Business Sponsor)Geoff Yapp (HMRC, Senior Business Sponsor Stamp Duty Land Tax)Angela Walker (HMRC, Senior Business Sponsor Scottish Rate of Income Tax)David Swift (HMRC, Deputy Director - Strategic Finance Budget Controller)Sean Neill (Scottish Government)HMT, (Fiscal Devolution)Scotland Office, (Economic Adviser)HMRC, (Internal Audit)HMRC, (Programme Manager)HMRC, (Landfill Tax Policy)HMRC, (Chief Digital Information Office).Freedom of Information principles have been applied and names of staff below SCS grade are not released.

HM Treasury

Social Security Benefits: Disability

Ian Austin: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the difference in the average proportion of income paid in tax annually by claimants of (a) employment and support allowance, (b) disability living allowance and (c) incapacity benefit.

Mr David Gauke: There are no published estimates of the tax paid by claimants of the three benefits.

Welfare Tax Credits

Mr Mike Weir: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many and what proportion of cases where applications for tax credits were (a) refused or (b) suspended because the applicant had failed to provide evidence of their status as a single person to the satisfaction of the assessing officer there were in the last 12 months.

Priti Patel: This information is not available.

EU Budget

Mr Nigel Dodds: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will take steps to encourage the European Commission to publish greater details on how much revenue it receives and how that revenue is spent.

Mr David Gauke: The European Commission publishes a Financial Report each year which sets out details of the amount of revenue and levels of expenditure in respect of the previous year’s EU Budget.   The latest report, on the 2013 EU Budget, was published in September 2014 and can be found at:   http://ec.europa.eu/budget/financialreport/2013/lib/financial_report_2013_en.pdf   Annex 2C, page 123, provides a breakdown of expenditure and revenue.

VAT: EU Action

Mr Nigel Dodds: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to protect UK businesses from additional paperwork arising from measures by the European Commission to standardise VAT returns.

Mr David Gauke: The UK’s current VAT return and associated procedures are supported by businesses. As the Office for Tax Simplification said in its recent report –Review of the Competitiveness of the UK Tax Administration – “The UK’s VAT return always wins praise for simplicity…”. The Government is committed to retaining that simplicity and continues to press for that in the EU.

D-Day Landings

Dan Jarvis: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what progress has been made on making funding available for D-Day veterans to visit the Normandy beaches; and when such a scheme will commence.

Mr David Gauke: The Chancellor announced in June that we would be using LIBOR fines to allow for the future return to Normandy of Veterans once the existing Big Lottery funding had ceased at the end of 2015.   Until now the Big Lottery scheme has imposed a 2 trip limit. The Chancellor has now instructed Officials to bring forward the introduction of the new ‘D-Day Return’ scheme to run in parallel in 2015, and in replacement beyond this date. This will provide free travel for any eligible veteran regardless of how many times he has been previously. Full details will be available shortly via the Royal British Legion website who will continue to deliver this on our behalf.

Income Tax

Ian Lucas: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much income tax revenue has been received from taxpayers in (a) England, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland in each of the last five years.

Mr David Gauke: Table 3.11 of HMRC’s personal income statistics provides estimates of income tax liabilities in England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland for the last 5 years (for which data are available), individual links to each published table are provided below:   2011-12 https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/276037/tables3-1_3-11.pdf   2010-11 https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/258887/tables3-11_3-15a.pdf   2009-10 http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20120609145917/http://hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal_incomes/statistics-release-note.pdf   2007-08 http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20120207220507/http://hmrc.gov.uk/stats/income_distribution/table-3-11-feb2010.pdf   2006-07 http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20120207220507/http://hmrc.gov.uk/stats/income_distribution/3-11-table-jan09.pdf   These estimates are based on the Survey of Personal Incomes, for which 2011-12 is the latest available year.

Public Bodies: Annual Reports

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he is taking to encourage public bodies to report on an integrated reporting basis; and if he will make a statement.

Danny Alexander: In July 2014 I laid a command paper before Parliament outlining the Government’s vision for a more simplified and streamlined presentation of statutory Annual Report and Resource Accounts for central government bodies. Within this paper the Government outlined its proposals for a more integrated form of reporting based on three main sections; performance – telling the story, accountability, and financial statements.   HM Treasury gratefully received feedback from the Liaison Committee on these proposals, and have recently consulted the statutorily independent Financial Reporting Advisory Board and central government reporting entities on the plans to implement these new reporting arrangements from 2015-16 onwards. I will be responding to the Liaison Committee ‘s comments shortly. HM Treasury is also supporting a pathfinder initiative on Integrated Reporting in the public sector that is being led by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy. This initiative will examine the extent to which Integrated Reporting can be applied in the public sector, and the results of this work will be taken into consideration as further developments are made to reporting arrangements post 2015-16.

Public Expenditure: Northern Ireland

Ms Margaret Ritchie: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much Northern Ireland will receive as a result of Barnett consequentials for the additional transport spending announced for England.

Ms Margaret Ritchie: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much Northern Ireland will receive as a result of Barnett consequentials for the additional health spending announced for England.

Danny Alexander: As a result of announcements made at Autumn Statement 2014, the Northern Ireland Executive will receive £76 million in additional allocations through to 2015-16, following the application of the Barnett Formula to new spending allocated to UK Government departments.   £42.7 million of this overall amount results from new funding being provided to the Department of Health, and £3.3 million is a result of new funding for the Department for Transport.

Money Laundering

Stephen Barclay: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many company formation agencies have been shut down by HM Revenue and Customs for involvement in money laundering in the last (a) 12 months, (b) five years and (c) 10 years.

Stephen Barclay: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many members of staff at HM Revenue and Customs are responsbile for determining whether UK company formation agents are fit and proper persons.

Stephen Barclay: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what budget has been allocated for staff of HM Revenue and Customs dealing with the regulation of company formation agents.

Stephen Barclay: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many members of staff at HM Revenue and Customs are involved in regulating and analysing company formation agencies in the UK.

Priti Patel: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is responsible for supervising the activities of some 2,600 businesses in the trust and company service providers sector under the Money Laundering Regulations, some of which undertake company formation activity on behalf of clients. Company formation is also carried out directly by Companies House, as well as by others such as lawyers and accountants that are not supervised by HMRC for the purposes of the Money Laundering Regulations.   The staff employed in supervisory, intelligence and prosecutory functions are contained within a variety of lines of business in HMRC. As such the number of staff and budget dedicated specifically to company formation agents is variable and cannot be identified.   There is a range of scenarios in which HMRC actions might result in a company formation agency stopping such activity, hence the information requested is not readily available.

Cabinet Office

Big Society Network

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will place in the Library (a) a copy of the minutes and (b) a list of attendees of the meeting between the Minister for Civil Society and the Big Society Network in January 2013.

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will place in the Library (a) a copy of the minutes and (b) a list of attendees of the meeting between the Minister for Civil Society and Your Square Mile in March 2013.

Mr Rob Wilson: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 2 December 2014 to PQs UIN216289, UIN 216290, UIN 216291, UIN 216292, and UIN 216293.

Big Lottery Fund

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will place in the Library copies of all correspondence between the Prime Minister and the Big Lottery Fund.

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, If he will place in the Library copies of all correspondence between the Minister for the Cabinet Office and the Big Lottery Fund.

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will place in the Library copies of all correspondence between the Minister for Civil Society and the Big Lottery Fund from May 2010 to July 2014.

Mr Rob Wilson: In line with the practice of successive administrations, details of internal discussions and correspondence are not usually disclosed.

Department for Culture Media and Sport

Mobile Phones: Wrexham

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will carry out an assessment of the adequacy of mobile telephone coverage in Wrexham town centre.

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what comparative assessment he has made of the adequacy of mobile telephone coverage in (a) Wrexham and (b) West Cheshire and Chester.

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of mobile telephone coverage in Wrexham County Borough.

Mr Edward Vaizey: An assessment of mobile telephone coverage of the whole of the UK, including Wrexham and West Cheshire and Chester, has been carried out by Ofcom and is publicly available on the Regulator’s web site: http://maps.ofcom.org.uk/mobile-services/ The information provided goes down to the level of an appropriate administrative area – such as Wrexham. It is not possible to identify data separately for Wrexham town centreThis covers both 2G and 3G networks and may be consulted on the basis of geographical area or premises. Coverage in each area is ranked from 1 to 5 on the level of mobile coverage (1= 95% or more; 2= 90% - less than 95%; 3= 80% - less than 90%; 4= 60% - less than 80%; 5= less than 60%). It is also possible to download the data in tabular form. The data was last up-dated on 13 December 2013. More information may be found in Ofcom’s 2013 up-date to its Infrastructure Report, also available to download at: http://maps.ofcom.org.uk/mobile-services/

Department of Health

Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that NHS staff are able to diagnose Ehlers-Danlos syndrome.

Norman Lamb: Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (EDS) falls within specialised services which are managed by NHS England and there is an NHS Standard Contract for the Complex Ehlers Danlos Service. Currently patients suspected of having EDS are assessed and diagnosed in United Kingdom regional clinical genetics clinics and various other secondary and tertiary speciality clinics such as dermatology, rheumatology, paediatrics, vascular surgery, gastroenterology and neurology clinics. The EDS specialist service provides a diagnostic service for difficult-to-diagnose forms of EDS and runs specialist clinics, located at Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust and North West London Hospitals NHS Trust, for patients who meet the referral criteria.   A copy of the Standard Contract for EDS is attached. 



Standard Contract for EDS
(PDF Document, 88.13 KB)

Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what research his Department has commissioned on Ehlers-Danlos syndrome.

George Freeman: The Department has not commissioned any research specifically on Ehlers-Danlos syndrome.   In March 2014, the Government launched the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) BioResource to provide a national cohort of healthy volunteers, patients and their relatives who wish to participate in experimental medicine research, and are willing to provide clinical information and samples that will enable them to be recalled for specific studies. The initial focus for the BioResource includes rare diseases. These studies will have the potential to rapidly advance the understanding of disease mechanisms, identify potential drug targets, and improve insight into the therapeutic potential and limitations of existing and emerging therapies.   A current NIHR BioResource study is investigating the genetic basis of rare inherited connective tissue conditions, mainly the Ehlers-Danlos syndromes and those with overlapping phenotypes, which includes familial thoracic aortic aneurysm/dissection.

Dupuytren's Contracture

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if his Department will implement the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence's latest guidance against the use of collagenase injections for the treatment of Dupuytren's disease.

George Freeman: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has not yet published final guidance on the use of collagenase clostridium histolyticum (Xiapex) for treating Dupuytren’s contracture. We understand that NICE recently consulted with stakeholders on its draft recommendations and expects to issue its final guidance in April 2015.   In the absence of final guidance from NICE, it is for commissioners to make funding directions based on the available evidence.

Mental Health Services

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps the NHS takes to encourage people receiving long-term treatment for a mental illness to continue to receive such treatment.

Norman Lamb: The Government’s 2014-15 Mandate set an objective for NHS England to ensure “everyone who needs it has timely access to evidence-based mental health services.”   People receiving long-term treatment for mental illness will have a care plan and regular reviews through the Care Programme Approach (CPA). As part of CPA they will work with a care coordinator to ensure that their care and support continues to meet their needs.

NHS: Interpreters

Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what guidance his Department issues to the NHS on its obligation to provide interpreter services.

Norman Lamb: The provision of language support, including interpretation and translation, is driven by the requirement for all National Health Service organisations to comply with the public sector equality duty. As public sector organisations, NHS bodies have a duty to ensure that all people have equal access to the information and services that they provide.   The provision of interpretation and translation services by NHS bodies is a matter for local determination based on the composition of the communities they serve, and the needs and circumstances of their patients, service users and local populations.   Section 20 of the Equality Act 2010 also requires those who provide a service to the public or a section of the public to make a ‘reasonable adjustment’ so that disabled people are not placed at a ‘substantial disadvantage’ compared to non-disabled people, this includes communication and provision of information.   As part of their commitment to improving the experience of patients using NHS services, empowering people to be equal partners in their own care and help reduce unacceptable variation in the quality of reasonable adjustments, NHS England is developing an Information Standard for the provision of accessible, personalised information.

Alcoholic Drinks: East of England

Mr David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many admissions to hospital through accident and emergency departments with an alcohol-related diagnosis there were in (a) Suffolk, (b) Norfolk and (c) Essex in each of the last four years.

Jane Ellison: Information is not available in the format or for the period requested.   Information on the sum of alcohol attributable fractions for admissions to hospital through accident and emergency departments in Suffolk, Norfolk and Essex from 2009-10 to 2012-13 is shown in the table below: County2009-102010-112011-122012-13Suffolk4,3755,0235,2405,509Norfolk7,4568,1719,2929,398Essex12,86314,06714,90514,768  Source: Health and Social Care Information Centre, Hospital Episode Statistics (HES)   Note:  It should be noted that this is not a count of patients as the same patient may have been admitted more than once in a year.   Alcohol attributable fractions do not provide a count of episodes with an alcohol related diagnosis or cause code but rather an estimate of the numbers based on the proportion of diseases and injuries that can be wholly or partially attributed to alcohol. In addition, partial alcohol attributable fractions are not applicable to children aged under 16 years.   The following trusts have been used to define activity in each of the referenced counties: - West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (FT) (Suffolk); - Ipswich Hospital NHS Trust (Suffolk); - James Paget University Hospitals NHS FT (Norfolk); - Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS FT (Norfolk); - Queen Elizabeth Hospitals King's Lynn NHS Trust (Norfolk); - Mid Essex Hospitals Services NHS Trust (Essex); - Colchester Hospital University NHS FT (Essex); - Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals NHS FT (Essex); - Southend University Hospital NHS FT (Essex); and - The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust (Essex).   The number of alcohol-related admissions is based on the methodology developed by the North West Public Health Observatory (NWPHO), which uses 48 indicators for alcohol-related illnesses, determining the proportion of a wide range of diseases and injuries that can be partly attributed to alcohol as well as those that are, by definition, wholly attributable to alcohol. Further information on these proportions can be found at :   http://www.nwph.net/nwpho/publications/AlcoholAttributableFractions.pdf   The application of the NWPHO methodology has recently been updated but is not currently available from HES.   The attributable fractions have recently been updated, but this analysis uses the fractions defined in 2008 pending update of the underlying database from which this analysis was produced. The alcohol attributable fraction is set to 1 (100%) where the admission is considered to be entirely due to alcohol, e.g. in the case of alcoholic liver disease. These records are described as wholly alcohol attributable.   The alcohol attributable fraction is set to a value greater than 0 but less than 1 according to the NWPHO definition, e.g. the alcohol fraction of an admission with a primary diagnosis of C00 - malignant neoplasm of lip, where the patient is male and between 65 and 74 is 0.44 - these records are described as partly alcohol attributable. These wholly and partly attributable fractions can be aggregated to supply an estimate of activity which can be considered wholly or partly attributable to alcohol.   A finished admission episode (FAE) is the first period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. FAEs are counted against the year or month in which the admission episode finishes. HES figures are available from 1989-90 onwards. Changes to the figures over time need to be interpreted in the context of improvements in data quality and coverage (particularly in earlier years), improvements in coverage of independent sector activity (particularly from 2006-07) and changes in NHS practice. For example, apparent reductions in activity may be due to a number of procedures which may now be undertaken in outpatient settings and so no longer include in admitted patient HES data. Conversely, apparent increases in activity may be due to improved recording of diagnosis or procedure information. Note that HES include activity ending in the year in question and run from April to March.

Hospital Beds: East of England

Mr David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many hospital beds per head of population there were in the (a) East of England Strategic Health Authority area and (b) Suffolk Primary Care Trust area in each year since 2007-08.

Jane Ellison: The information is not collected centrally in the format requested.

Accident and Emergency Departments: East of England

Mr David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate his Department has made of the average travelling distance to a 24-hour accident and emergency department in the East of England in the last year.

Jane Ellison: No estimate has been made by the Department.

Dental Services: East of England

Mr David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many and what proportion of practising dentists in each county in the East of England are taking on new NHS patients.

Dr Daniel Poulter: The information requested is not collected centrally. The NHS Choices website, www.nhs.uk, publishes some dental practice-level information about whether National Health Service patients in various categories are being accepted for new courses of treatment. However, the relevant data collection is voluntary and not all dental practices have taken the opportunity to return this information to NHS Choices.

Pancreatic Cancer: Drugs

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with NHS England on the need to recognise levels of unmet need in pancreatic cancer when re-evaluating treatments on the Cancer Drugs Fund.

George Freeman: We have had no such discussions. These are matters for NHS England’s Cancer Drugs Fund clinical panel.   The panel plans to meet on 15 and 16 December to assess, on the basis of the latest evidence, whether certain drugs should continue to be made routinely available to new patients through the Fund and to consider a number of new drugs for potential addition to the Fund.   In making such decisions, the panel will take into account a number of factors, including unmet need.   NHS England has assured the Department that no patient whose treatment is currently being funded through the Fund will have funding withdrawn, as long as it is clinically appropriate that they continue to receive that treatment. In addition, no drug will be removed from the Fund where it is the only therapy for that condition.

Mental Health Services

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of funding for mental health.

Norman Lamb: We have scrutinised clinical commissioning groups’ (CCGs) spending plans to ensure mental health services are getting the priority they need.   The Department and NHS England continue to work together to ensure that there are consistent messages to commissioners and providers about the importance of delivering parity of esteem for mental health services and service users.   Funding for mental health has increased by £302 million in 2014-15, total mental health spending rose from £11.362 billion in 2013-14 with £11.664 billion planned in 2014-15. This includes spend on primary care and specialist commissioning.   In our new five-year plan for mental health, Achieving Better Access to Mental Health Services by 2020, we identified £40 million additional spending this year and freed up a further £80 million for 2015-16. This will, for the first time ever, enable the setting of access and waiting time standards in mental health services.   We will also be investing £30 million a year over the next five years in England to improve services for young people with mental health problems, this will place particular emphasis on eating disorders.

Mental Health Services

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what representations he has received on shortages of mental health beds in NHS England.

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to increase the number of mental health beds available in adult acute admission wards; and if he will intensify such efforts and provide more such beds.

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the average monthly occupancy level is for adult acute admission wards in NHS England in each of the last 10 years.

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many mental health beds were available in NHS England in each of the last five years.

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many mental health beds have been closed since August 2013.

Norman Lamb: The Department has received a small number of representations on the number of mental health beds in NHS England through parliamentary questions, Ministerial correspondence and media inquiries, notably the BBC.   Occupancy data for all mental health beds is available from Q1 2010-11 on a quarterly basis.   PeriodAverage Daily Available BedsOccupiedBed DaysOccupied (%)2010-11Q123,51520,47087.1%2010-11Q222,92919,87886.7%2010-11Q323,74020,40085.9%2010-11Q423,60720,45686.6%2011-12Q123,25320,17886.8%2011-12Q223,20820,13986.8%2011-12Q323,01620,07987.2%2011-12Q423,12120,17187.2%2012-13Q122,55019,73287.5%2012-13Q222,26919,66388.3%2012-13Q322,49619,61087.2%2012-13Q422,26819,72888.6%2013-14Q122,10919,52788.3%2013-14Q222,02519,65389.2%2013-14Q321,93119,31388.1%2013-14Q421,73119,24688.6%2014-15Q121,82219,55789.6%2014-15Q221,63919,37689.5% The table shows the number of mental health beds available in England in each of the last five years, by quarter.   In Quarter 2 (July to September) 2013-14 there were on average 22,025 available beds daily, compared to 21,639 in Quarter 2 2014-15, a reduction of 386 (1.8%).   It is for local clinical commissioning groups to commission the mental health services, including inpatient beds, to meet the mental health needs of their local population   The 2014-15 Mandate to NHS England expects every community to have plans to ensure no one in mental health crisis will be turned away, based on the principles set out in the Crisis Care Concordat.   The Government has made it clear that beds must always be available for those who need them.

Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust Independent Inquiry

Mr Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans his Department has to publish a progress report on the Government's implementation of the recommendations in Hard Truths: The Journey to Putting Patients First.

Jane Ellison: Since the publication of Hard Truths: The Journey to Putting Patients First, the Government has taken huge strides to boost safety, transparency, compassion and accountability in the National Health Service. We have legislated to make the Care Quality Commission independent, and a new rigorous inspection regime for hospitals, primary care and adult social care has been introduced, resulting in a clear rating on the quality of care. We have also introduced a robust special measures regime for struggling hospitals, so that poor care is identified and rectified. In addition, we have legislated to place a new duty of candour and fit and proper person requirement for directors of NHS bodies, as well as to create a new offence of wilful neglect and ill treatment. This Government has also placed an unprecedented amount of data on the MyNHS website, so that the public can see how their local services perform.   We will be publishing an update and summary of this progress shortly.

Drugs: Licensing

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the contribution by the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Health on the Off-patent Drugs Bill of 7 November 2014, columns 1114-1118, what discussions he has had with hospitals and GPs on changing clinical pathways to reflect the latest evidence to improve the uptake of effective off-patent drugs; what steps he has taken to set up a round-table discussion of these issues with NHS England and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE); when this discussion will take place; and what steps he has taken to accelerate the uptake of (a) off-patent drugs and (b) innovative medicines through NICE guidance.

George Freeman: We have had no such discussions with hospital doctors and general practitioners. Clinicians can already prescribe off-patent drugs and these are widely used in the National Health Service but we are in the process of setting up a round-table discussion with key stakeholders, and are discussing suitable dates with them. Current prescribing arrangements allow clinicians to prescribe such drugs off-label and off-license when it best meets their patients individual clinical needs. The majority of significant new drugs are referred to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) technology appraisal work programme. NHS commissioners are required to fund drugs and treatments recommended by NICE technology appraisal guidance. Other NICE guidance, including clinical guidelines, may address the use of off-patent drugs for treating particular conditions and we expect clinicians and commissioners to take account of this guidance.   The Government has recently launched an external review of the pathways for the development, assessment, and adoption of innovative medicines and medical technology to consider how to speed up access for NHS patients to cost-effective new diagnostics, medicines and devices.

Terrence Higgins Trust

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 1 December 2014, Official Report, columns 1107-19HL, by how much the funding for the Terrence Higgins Trust will be reduced.

Jane Ellison: Discussions are continuing with Terrence Higgins Trust about extending their contract for a year in 2015-16.

fpa

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much funding the Family Planning Association has received from the Government in each of the last four years; and what funding will be made available to the Family Planning Association.

Jane Ellison: In each of the last four years the Family Planning Association (FPA) has received:   - 2011-12: £1,376,000 - 2012-13: £571,797 - 2013-14: £390,713 - 2014-15: £239,365 (with a further £111,818 due to be invoiced by 31 March 2015) Discussions are continuing with the FPA about extending their contract for a year in 2015-16.

Clinical Commissioning Groups: Greater London

Mr Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, at what cost to his Department senior management of each London NHS clinical commissioning group and trust have been sent on trips abroad in each year since 2010.

Jane Ellison: This information is not held centrally.

Genito-urinary Medicine

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what work Health Education England undertakes with local authorities in the area of sexual health; and how much of Health Education England's budget is spent on such work.

Dr Daniel Poulter: Health Education England (HEE) plays a role in commissioning education and training for public health specialists and other public health staff. HEE and the Local Education and Training Boards work with partners across the health system, including Public Health England and local authorities to assess future staffing requirements. Information on the amount of HEE’s budget which is spent on such work is not held centrally.

Dialysis Machines

Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his Answer of 27 November to Question 215754, what main concerns have been raised by stakeholders in renal services at the recent meeting with the head of the Specialised Services Task Force in NHS England; and what steps he is taking in response to such concerns.

Jane Ellison: Concerns raised by stakeholders in the meeting hosted by the head of the Specialised Services Task Force in NHS England included: the status of service specifications and clinical policies, mandatory hospital data collection requirements, clinical commissioning group (CCG) understanding of renal dialysis and a potential fragmentation of the renal transplant pathway.   NHS England has recently established a Task & Finish group through the NHS Commissioning Assembly. This group comprises representatives from CCGs and NHS England, and will oversee the development and delivery of proposals for commissioning of specialised services in 2015-16 and beyond.   Within this Task & Finish group, a sub-group will be responsible for planning and managing the transition process for services that are being transferred from national to CCG commissioning (including renal dialysis) from 1 April 2015.   On 27 November 2014, the Department issued a public consultation on the arrangements for the transfer of commissioning responsibility from NHS England to CCGs for renal dialysis and morbid obesity surgery services.   The consultation seeks views on what type of support CCGs will need from NHS England to be able to commission renal dialysis and morbid obesity surgery services effectively and whether, if all this support can be put in place, the timing of the transfer is right.   The results of the consultation will be used to inform the decisions on when and how to transfer the commissioning responsibility for renal dialysis and morbid obesity surgery services to CCGs, and the work of the NHS England Task & Finish group. The consultation will close on 9 January 2015.   NHS England is committed to issuing commissioning guidance for the safe transfer of renal dialysis services from national NHS England responsibility to local CCG responsibility.

Mental Illness

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of mental health patients also have drug and alcohol dependencies.

Norman Lamb: We do not hold information centrally on what proportion of mental health patients also have drug and alcohol dependencies.   The table below shows the number and percentage of people, within the Mental Health Minimum Data set, in contact with adult secondary mental health services at the end of 2013-14, who had contact with a member of a substance misuse team.   Total number of people in contact with mental health services at the end of 2013-14960,194Of these - the number of people who had a recorded contact with a member of a substance misuse team during their spell of care.4,066The percentage of people who had a recorded contact with a member of a substance misuse team during their spell of care.0.4%   Source: 2013/14 MHMDS dataset

Nalmefene

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what guidance his Department issues on whether local authorities or clinical commissioning groups should fund the cost of the drug Nalmefene.

George Freeman: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published technology appraisal guidance on 26 November which recommends nalmefene (Selincro) as a possible treatment for people with alcohol dependence, subject to certain criteria.   NHS commissioners and local authorities, with respect to their public health functions, are legally required to make funding available for treatments recommended by NICE technology appraisal guidance, within three months of NICE’s final guidance.

Dialysis Machines

Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 27 November 2014 to Question 215754, what consideration the new Task and Finish group will give to the commissioning of kidney services; and when he expects the advisory group to report on what support clinical commissiong groups will require to take on commissioning of dialysis.

Jane Ellison: NHS England has recently established a Task and Finish group through the NHS Commissioning Assembly. This group comprises representatives from clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) and NHS England, and will oversee the development and delivery of proposals for commissioning of specialised services in 2015-16 and beyond.   Within this Task and Finish group, a sub-group will be responsible for planning and managing the transition process for services that are being transferred from national to CCG commissioning (including renal dialysis) from 1 April 2015.   On 27 November 2014, the Department has issued a public consultation on the arrangements for the transfer of commissioning responsibility from NHS England to CCGs for renal dialysis and morbid obesity surgery services.   The consultation seeks views on what type of support CCGs will need from NHS England to be able to commission renal dialysis and morbid obesity surgery services effectively and whether, if all this support can be put in place, the timing of the transfer is right.   The results of the consultation will be used to inform the decisions on when and how to transfer the commissioning responsibility for renal dialysis and morbid obesity surgery services to CCGs, and the work of the NHS England Task and Finish group. The consultation will close on 9 January 2015.   NHS England is committed to issuing commissioning guidance for the safe transfer of renal dialysis services from national NHS England responsibility to local CCG responsibility.

Speech Therapy: Warrington

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many qualified speech and language therapists have been employed by the NHS in Warrington in each year since 2009-10.

Dr Daniel Poulter: The information requested is shown in the attached table.  



Speech and Language Therapists Warrington
(Word Document, 17.8 KB)

Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Mr Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many (a) elective and (b) non-elective operations were carried out in the Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in each year since 2004.

Jane Ellison: Information is not available in the format requested.   Information on the number of Finished Consultant Episodes (FCE) for all main procedures by admission method carried out in the Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in each year since 2003-04 is shown in the table below: YearElective Admission MethodNon-Elective Admission MethodOther Admission Method2003-0428,5876,8034,0372004-0529,4887,5674,0572005-0630,6907,4033,9612006-0729,8688,9024,2742007-0834,6999,8035,3892008-0934,42510,5454,6742009-1036,01512,6744,8332010-1136,58113,4315,2302011-1238,70614,2995,3902012-1339,68113,9575,607 Source: Health and Social Care Information Centre, Hospital Episode Statistics (HES)   Note:  A FCE is a continuous period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. FCEs are counted against the year in which they end. Figures do not represent the number of different patients, as a person may have more than one episode of care within the same stay in hospital or in different stays in the same year.The main procedure is the first recorded procedure or intervention in each episode, usually the most resource intensive procedure or intervention performed during the episode. It is appropriate to use main procedure when looking at admission details, (e.g. time waited), but a more complete count of episodes with a particular procedure is obtained by looking at the main and the secondary procedures.

Mental Health Services: Warrington

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many qualified (a) psychologists and (b) psychiatrists have been employed by the NHS in Warrington in each year since 2009-10.

Dr Daniel Poulter: The information requested is shown in the attached table.



Psychologists & Psychiatrists Warrington 2009-14
(Word Document, 18.92 KB)

Zolpidem

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent representations he has received on the prescription of zolpidem.

George Freeman: In the 6 month period, June 2014 to November 2014, the Department received no written representations concerning the prescribing of zolpidem (Stilnoct).

Cancer

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to help GPs diagnose cancer at an early stage.

Jane Ellison: Improving Outcomes: A Strategy for Cancer (January 2011) is backed by an additional £750 million over the four year Spending Review period including over £450 million to achieve early diagnosis. The earlier diagnosis money is designed to support improved direct general practitioner (GP) access to four key diagnostic tests to support the diagnosis of brain tumours, bowel, lung, and ovarian cancers; and increased testing and treatment costs in secondary care. GPs are able to access these tests directly in cases where the two-week urgent referral pathway is not appropriate but a patient’s symptoms require further investigation. The intention is that more people presenting with relevant symptoms will be tested and at an earlier stage.   In 2012, the Department published ‘Direct access to diagnostic tests for cancer: best practice referral pathways for general practitioners’ to provide criteria for accessing these diagnostic tests.   The earlier diagnosis money also supports centrally led Be Clear on Cancer (BCOC) symptom awareness campaigns to raise the public’s awareness of cancer symptoms and encourage people with persistent symptoms to go to the doctor. Since 2011 the Department and Public Health England (since 2013) in partnership with NHS England (including NHS Improving Quality) and other stakeholders have run national BCOC campaigns for bladder and kidney, bowel, breast and lung cancers; regional campaigns for ovarian, oesophagogastric cancers, and local pilot campaigns to raise awareness of four symptoms of unexplained bleeding, lump, pain, and weight loss; and awareness of skin and prostate cancers.   As part of the BCOC campaign process, the Department, Public Health England, and NHS England have worked with Cancer Research UK and other partners to develop briefing sheets to support GPs and other healthcare professionals during the campaigns.   More generally, to increase awareness of cancer amongst GPs, the Department supported British Medical Journal (BMJ) Learning to develop and launch an on-line learning tool for GPs in 2012. The tool offers accredited professional development and includes four modules - tackling late diagnosis; risk assessment tools; cancer pathway and the role of primary care; and diagnosing osteosarcoma and brain tumours in children with an additional section on communication skills. The tool can be accessed at:   http://learning.bmj.com/learning/home.html   In 2013, Macmillan Cancer Support, partly funded by the Department, piloted an electronic cancer decision support (CDS) tool for GPs to use in their routine practice. It is designed to help GPs recognise the symptoms of cancer and identify patients that they might not otherwise refer urgently for suspected cancer. The CDS covers lung, colorectal, oesophagogastric, ovarian and pancreatic cancers and a new symptom checker for melanoma. Following the pilot, Macmillan Cancer Support is able to offer the tool to GPs.   In addition to this, since 2005, the Referral Guidelines for Suspected Cancer, published by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has supported GPs to identify patients with the symptoms of suspected cancer and urgently refer them as appropriate. NICE is in the process of updating this guidance to ensure that it reflects the latest evidence and the anticipated publication date for the revised guidelines is May 2015.

Organs: Donors

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that donated organs are suitable for transplant.

Jane Ellison: Potential donors are screened for a number of infections, such as HIV, Hepatitis B and C, Syphilis, Cytomegalovirus and Human T-cell lymphotropic virus. In addition, organs are routinely evaluated prior to retrieval, during retrieval and before implantation by both the retrieval team and the transplantation clinical team. Trained Specialist Nurses in Organ Donation review the donor’s clinical notes and contact the general practitioner or relevant health professional to obtain the medical history. In order to build an accurate background of the donor’s social and medical history, the Specialist Nurse approaches the family to gather information about the potential donor’s lifestyle choices, travel history and other factors that may impact on whether or not a donor’s organs are appropriate for transplantation, using a standard form to ensure that all relevant history is captured. The decision whether or not to accept an organ for a patient is ultimately made by the transplant surgeon, using their clinical expertise and the information collected to carefully weigh up the risks. In line with guidance, the transplant team discuss with the potential recipient any known risks associated with the organ which could affect its function in the short and long term before obtaining consent for its use.

Autism

Mrs Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that community care assessments of people with autism are being carried out by professionals with appropriate training.

Mrs Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that adults who receive a diagnosis of autism are made aware of their right to a community care assessment.

Norman Lamb: The Care Act will be implemented from April 2015. The Care and Support (Assessment) Regulations 2014, which are made under the Act, will require all local authorities to ensure that anyone carrying out an assessment is appropriately trained and has the skills, knowledge and competency to do so. The Regulations also require that where the assessor is not an expert in the condition they are assessing and the needs of the person require it, the local authority must ensure the assessor consults someone who is an expert in this condition. These requirements apply where a local authority is carrying out an assessment of an adult with autism. In line with Think Autism, the 2014 update to the 2010 Adult Autism Strategy, local authorities should develop specialist training for those in roles that have a direct impact on access to services for adults with autism.   Under the Care Act local authorities must assess an adult where there is an appearance of a need for care and support. This is not a new requirement and it has been highlighted again in the draft revised statutory guidance for local authorities and the NHS to implement Think Autism, which is being consulted on until 19 December.

Women and Equalities

Access to Elected Office for Disabled People Fund

Kate Green: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, pursuant to the Answer of 22 October 2014 to Question 210908, whether the evaluation process of the Access to the Electoral Office Fund will involve members of the Speaker's Conference on Parliamentary Representation.

Kate Green: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, pursuant to the Answer of 22 October 2014 to Question 210906, what criteria will be used to evaluate the Access to Elected Office Fund.

Jo Swinson: The assessment of the fund’s effectiveness will involve users of the fund, the Independent Administrator and the Access to Elected Office for Disabled People Stakeholder Group, which includes disability organisations, political parties and the Local Government Association. We have not planned for the formal involvement of the Speaker’s Conference on Parliamentary Representation, which existed from 2008 – 2010, however I was a member of that Speaker’s Conference and I am happy to hear views from any member of the House on how the fund is working. The Government has not published criteria for the assessment; however, it will focus on the extent to which the fund removes barriers to disabled people’s participation in public life. The assessment will draw on a range of data gathered by the independent fund administrator, including demand and the different types of support applicants require. The fund will provide support up to and including the General Election and it will be for the next Government to judge the fund’s effectiveness and whether and how it should be extended.

Castes: Discrimination

Dr Julian Huppert: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, whether the Government plans to proceed with the first of the two consultations before the end of autumn 2014 to add caste as an aspect of race into the Equality Act 2010 in accordance with the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013.

Nicky Morgan: We are currently considering the form and timing of the public consultation in the light of ongoing caste discrimination litigation in the Employment Appeal Tribunal. We will await the outcome of the judgment before deciding in what form to issue the public consultation

Written Questions: Government Responses

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, when she plans to Answer Question 205841, tabled on 15 July 2014.

Jo Swinson: Due to a technical error, the answer to question 205841 was not processed, as had been believed. I apologise and can confirm to the Rt. Hon. Member that the question has now been answered.